Amber Lynne
I had not been able to stop thinking about that Zenkian soldier with the blue and black hair that I had seen earlier that day. There was something about the way he looked at me that caught me off guard. It wasn't just that he was extremely attractive, as Gina had pointed out. It was something else, and I did not know what that was.
Later that evening, I walked through the market filling my bag with herbs and foods in order to cook myself a dinner. There was the opportunity to join the communal dinner every night, but sometimes I liked my alone time. In fact, I liked my alone time a lot. I had always been this way, kind of a homebody. I liked to cook when I lived on Earth, and the chance to learn to cook exotic alien foods was too good to pass up. I took every opportunity to do it.
But I had gotten away with myself as far as the market went and before I knew it, I was lugging two very heavy burlap bags up the steep stairs that lined the outside of the mountain. I was going up to my dwelling, and I was out of breath.
“I can help you with that, human female,” I heard a deep voice say from behind me. I turned slightly to see the mysterious soldier that had been in the hallway of the treatment rooms earlier, the one with the blue and black hair.
“What?” I said confused and excited at the same time. I felt very nervous as he looked at me. He grabbed the bags from my arms and lifted them with ease.
“Allow me. You looked as if you were struggling. I can help you,” he said.
“Thank you. I appreciate it. I was just taking these bags to my dwelling,” I said.
“Sure,” I said hesitantly. I began to walk up the stairs. I could feel him looking at my body as he walked behind me. There was something very seductive about climbing stairs, knowing that there was someone behind you, staring at your ass. I was growing nervous with each step.
“Yes, please set it down on the table. I got carried away in the market. I planned to make a small dinner for myself but became enchanted by the many food options today,” I said.
“Yes, the harvest has just come in for this month, and there are many things to choose from. This is a lot for one small human,” he said.
We were quiet. It was awkward. I wanted to ask, but dare I say anything?
“Would you like to join me to eat this evening?” I asked, finally getting the words out.
“It is nice to meet you, Amber. I am Commander Nykon,” he said as he walked towards the door.
“I will be eating in an hour, if you change your mind. Just knock on the door,” I said.
He smiled. His brilliant white teeth were beautiful and were in stark contrast to his blue skin. Then he said, “I will keep that in mind.”
He walked out and closed the door behind him. It was only then that I realized I had been sort of holding my breath. I let out a long sigh. He left me breathless, literally.
I quickly got to work on making dinner. I was so nervous as I chopped and cooked. Would he show up? I wanted him to, but then I did not.
Forty-five minutes later, I was just about done cooking. I turned off the heat box; it was like an oven, only very different. The dish that I put in there would continue to cook for a couple of more minutes and then it would stay warm. I moved to the washroom and freshened up.
“Why are you so nervous, Amber?” I said as I looked in the mirror. I knew he might not even show up. Nevertheless, I continued to brush the loose strands of my hair. I straightened up my dress and grab some flower-scented oil and dabbed a bit on. I probably smelled like food anyway.
I went back into the kitchen and took the food out of the heat box. Everything was ready. I looked at the clock; in five minutes, it would be an hour. I walked over to the window and looked out at the view. The market area was busy, teaming with Zenkian and some human females. It looked like a lively evening, as it usually was.
The knock at my door startled me. Even though I was sort of expecting it, I had gotten lost in looking out at the market below. I took a deep breath and walked toward the door. This was it. I was going to have a Grantsions Zenkian soldier in my living quarters for dinner. It was a big step for me. Before coming to the Grantsions village, I hated Zenkian aliens. I had every right to after what I had been through with the Waysaw Zenkian aliens. But I had slowly found the Grantsions Zenkian to be different. After many months in their company, I had grown fond of them.
I opened the door. But it was not Commander Nykon; it was my human female friend, Gina.